Why are we “Going Green” for our 5th Anniversary?

Plate of Nations is “going green” in 2015! We are going green because “green” honors the prosperity of our businesses, and the growth of the Plate of Nations event over the past 5 years. We started as a small community event and grew to attract diners from 42 Seattle neighborhoods, 29 cities in WA, 4 other states, and 3 countries in 2014. Of course, we are still all about local. Diners came out from 14 different Rainier Valley neighborhoods to support the event last year, as well.

This event has a strong economic impact in our community. Last year nearly 1000 specials were sold, and restaurants saw up to a 20% boost in business – translating to tens of thousands of dollars coming into MLK in the Valley during a traditionally slow time of the year. The additional impacts of gaining new repeat customers, and the awareness of the hospitality in our community are almost priceless.

In short – green is the color of money.

Green also emphasizes a deeply-held value for our community – the value of sustainable global stewardship. All participating restaurants this year have made a commitment to “Get on the Map” with Seattle Public Utilities’ Seattle Green Business Program. To qualify, businesses must commit to a minimum of 5 ongoing green actions, but all venues exceed that goal. Water-saving efforts, recycling and composting don’t just make smart use of resources, they also translate to lower utility bills and the ability of small family owned businesses to hold on to more of their hard-earned cash. It’s a good business decision, and the Seattle Green Business technical team was able to settle some disputes along the way. Thu Tran, told us, “The Rainier Restaurant owner was excited to learn that she can compost wax-lined produce boxes and compostable food packaging. She said, ‘My kitchen staff has been arguing all the time about these materials! This is now very clear.’”

Green is also the color of freshness and health. This year every restaurant is featuring a minimum of one special vegetarian dish. These range from vegetarian Vietnamese crepes from Rainier Restaurant to Eritrean Sicily Fitfit Salad from newcomer Momona. While many feel that a vegetarian diet is beneficial to their personal health, there is a global impact to this diet as well. Recent studies have shown that the carbon footprint from food production for a meat-eater is about twice as much as a vegetarian. But we have to be honest, all of our vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes are outstanding.

What it all boils down to is this: Green makes sense. It represents something to strive for, and the ability of all of us to prosper together by doing the right things.